Six people have been arrested in connection to the building's collapse, including three factory owners. Three of the plaza's eight storeys were reportedly build illegally.

Rescue workers are racing to recover survivors of the collapse as the window to find those alive is closing rapidly.

"The chances of finding people alive are dimming, so we have to step up our rescue operation to save any valuable life we can," Major General Chowdhury Hassan Sohrawardi, coordinator of the operation at the site, told Reuters.